Courtside View: Ball now in Ainge's hands

Saturday

Apr 19, 2014 at 6:19 PMApr 22, 2014 at 10:33 PM

By Scott SouzaDaily News staff

Before the Celtics could move forward in this season of transition they had to figure out exactly what they had.They had to learn what players like Jeff Green and Jared Sullinger would do in expanded roles following the trade of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. They had to determine whether Avery Bradley was a budding star or simply a defensive role player. Most importantly, they had to see how four-time All-Star Rajon Rondo would return from his torn anterior cruciate ligament, and how his agenda would mesh with that of first-year coach Brad Stevens.Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge likely didn't get all the answers he wanted during a 25-57 season that was tied for the fourth worst in the NBA. Bradley battled more injuries. Green battled more inconsistency. Sullinger battled conditioning issues. Rondo battled himself on and off the court with his physical limitations and at-times rocky adjustment to being the team's undisputed veteran leader.Yet, over the next two months, Ainge will have to move forward with what he does know about his current roster as he looks to reshape it for the future. As trash bags full of clothes and personal items littered the locker room floor prior to Wednesday night's season-ending loss at TD Garden, the room did not have the look of a winning team. It had the look of a room where many of the players knew they would be walking out of it later that night for the final time.One of those players may have been Green. At the start of the season, he talked about wanting to be "that guy" on this team for the first time in his career. In the end, he could only do it for games — and typically only quarters — at a time. That Green could statistically have a career year and have it seem like such a disappointment to so many is the essence of why his run will ultimately be judged a failure in Boston.The dilemma is that Green is most effective when the offense is going through him, yet having him as your No. 1 option means you're a 25-win team. Whether it's by drafting his starting small forward replacement high in the first round on June 26, or using his contract to facilitate a bigger trade that night, his often-frustrating time with the Celtics could very well be in its waning days.A restricted free agent, Bradley figures to be back, yet perhaps not under the terms he hoped for when he entered this season as the team's starting point guard. That experiment was quickly and wisely abandoned, and Bradley instead set out to prove he could be a legitimate scoring option at shooting guard.The results there were more promising — if not exactly efficient — yet compromised by the fact that he missed 22 more games (more than a quarter of the season) due to myriad ankle problems. His market is unlikely to be what he envisioned coming into the year. Bradley's best course would be to take a short-term deal in Boston with an eye toward a bigger payday down the road.If there was a success story on this year's Celtics it was Sullinger. He came back relatively strong from last year's back surgery and quickly rehabilitated his image after he was arrested on a domestic abuse charge (which was later dismissed) in September. He doubled his scoring average from his rookie year and led the team in rebounding. He also showed maturity in handling the media amid the strains of a lottery-bound season.Sullinger has said improving his conditioning this summer — after he could not do the work he wanted due to the back surgery last year — is his No. 1 priority this offseason. That would put him in ideal position to be a franchise cornerstone moving forward, or the centerpiece of a trade to bring someone else's franchise player to Boston.With most of the rest of the roster complementary pieces, that leaves Rondo as the final core question in advance of the draft. While he was mostly patient and positive during some of the bleakest moments of the season, he was unable to lift the level of play of those around him as the team was often at its worst when he was on the court.The Celtics went just 6-24 when Rondo started, compared to 6-5 when undrafted rookie Phil Pressey was in the lineup. Since Jan. 13, 2013, the team is 6-30 (.167 winning percentage) in games Rondo has played, and 40-50 (.444) in games he has not. His one triple-double this year came in a homecourt loss to the second-worst team in the league.Add in the random late scratches that often appeared to baffle Stevens, and the Los Angeles birthday bash that seemed to strike as much of a nerve with the new coach as anything not involving Keith Bogans off the court all year, and you have a player whose future in Boston remains very much in doubt.If Ainge has the opportunity around the draft to bring in a veteran All-Star and pair him with Rondo as two of the next big three, that would seem to remain the preference. But if that trade is not there, and another lottery team is looking for its own quick-fix veteran star (the Los Angeles Lakers with a returning Kobe Bryant come to mind) then Ainge could easily take a sharp left down that path as well.Ainge said of the captain prior to Wednesday's finale that he thinks next year will be the best of Rondo's career.He just never said where it will be played.Scott Souza can be reached at 781-398-8006 or ssouza@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @scott_souza.

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